l that were about them
on every side.

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.

A GAME AT MARBLES.

It was a false alarm. The people who had collected about them were not
brigands, and they only carried working tools, not weapons for attack.

"Means what, Yussuf?" said Mr Burne.

"They have come to see how you dig out the buried treasure, effendi,"
said the guide with a suspicion of a smile.

"Treasure! what treasure?" cried the professor.

"It is of no use to argue with them, your excellency; they of course
know that, in place of there being only little villages here in the far
back days, there were great cities, like Istamboul and Smyrna and
Trieste, all over the country."

"Quite true; there were."

"And that these cities were occupied by great wealthy nations, whose
houses and palaces and temples were destroyed by enemies, and they
believe that all their golden ornaments and money lie buried beneath
these stones."

"What nonsense!" cried Mr Burne impatiently. "If you dug down here you
would find bones, not gold. It is an old cemetery, a place of tombs--
eh, Preston?"

"Quite right," said the professor. "Tell them that we are only looking
for old pieces of sculpture and inscriptions."

"I will tell them, effendi," said Yussuf smiling; and he turned to the
people who were gathered round, and repeated the professor's words in
their own tongue.

The result was a derisive laugh, and one of the men, a great swarthy
fellow, spoke at some length.

"What does he say, Yussuf?" said Mr Burne.

"He asks the excellency if we think they are fools and children--"

"Yes, decidedly so," replied Mr Burne; "but hold hard, Yussuf; don't
tell them so."

"If it is likely they will believe that the Franks--"

"No, no, not Franks, Yussuf," said the professor laughing; "he said
`giaours.'"

"True, effendi; he did--If they will believe that the giaours would come
from a far country, and travel here merely to read a few old writings
upon some stones, and examine the idols that the old people carved."

"Well, I don't wonder at it," said Mr Burne with a sigh as he tickled
his nose with a fresh pinch. "It does seem very silly. Tell them it is
not they, but we: we are the fools."

"Don't tell them anything of the kind, Yussuf," said the professor. "It
is not foolish to search for wisdom. Tell them the truth. We are not
seeking for treasures, but to try and find something about the history
of the people who built these citie